Security

Italy: Calabrian mafia 'boss' arrested in south

Rome, 2 July (AKI) - Italian police on Thursday arrested Leone Soriano, a suspected boss of the Calabrian mafia or 'Ndrangheta, outside the regional capital, Catanzaro. Italian paramilitary police or Carabinieri arrested Soriano at his home in Filandri.

His arrest warrant was issued by anti-mafia magistrates in Catanzaro.

Investigators gave no further details on the operation or the charges against Soriano.

The Calabrian mafia or 'Ndrangheta has become one of the most powerful criminal organisations in Italy and is reported to have extended its power base through the European drug trafficking market.

It also has strong links in Canada, Australia and other parts of the world.

Police on Tuesday seized assets estimated to be worth 10 million euros from the 'Ndrangheta Piromalli crime family in Gioia Tauro, a port city in Calabria.

The assets include land and apartments, many in the northern city of Milan, and businesses and companies belonging to jailed local mafia boss Giuseppe Piromalli, 64, and his 37-year-old son Antonio, who is also in prison.

Police last week arrested 60 'Ndrangheta suspects who are accused of drug trafficking, extortion and embezzlement among other crimes.

The Italian government has vowed to defeat the mafia and this year police have arrested over 100 suspects including a number of suspected mafia bosses and have seized tens of millions of euros of alleged mafia assets.